Improved alloys of aluminum



UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFICE.

MOSES G. FARMER, OF SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVED 'A'LLOYS OF ALUMINUM.

, Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 38,30l, dated April28, 1862 To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Mosns G. FARMER, of

lhe city of Salem, in the county of Essex, in

of alloys which may be variously and advantageously used in the arts,some of which are of use in the place of composition or the alloycommonly used for bearings in machinery, others of which areparticularly valuable for gunmetal. Others, from their color, texture,and luster, are peculiarly well adapted for use as substitutes for goldin the manufacture of watchcases, chains, and ornamental jewelry, whileothers are applicable for varioususes as in springs, sheet metal, wire,sheathing, 850.

My invention consists in combining copper and aluminum, or an alloy ofthese metals, with one or more light-colored metals within the limits ofthe proportions herein specified, the variations within said limitsbeing made for the purpose of producing certain desirable qualities inthe alloys resulting from said combination, so as best to adapt them forspecific purposes.

In the practice of my invention I combine the copper and the aluminumand the other light-colored metal or metals, in the manner usuallypracticed by metallurgists in mixing metals, in any proportions betweeneighty per cent. of copper to twenty per cent. of the lightcoloredmetals and ninety-eight per cent. of

copper to two per cent. of the light-colored metals, the proportion ofaluminum to the whole quantity of light-colored metals used varying fromten to ninety-five percent. The copper being the first element of mycombination and the aluminum being the second, I propose to use for thethird or the other light-colored metal ormetals silver or zinc, tin,nickel, platinum, or iron, or other light-colored metals havingsubstantially similar properties with those enumerated, or any desiredmixture or alloy of the metals embraced in the third element of mycombination within the proportion which they bear to the second element,as be fore specified.

As metals combine best in certain definite or equivalent proportions, Ipropose to state in tabular form some of the combinations embracedwithin my invention, together with some of the properties of saidcombinations or variations within the proportions given for my alloys,it being understood that the examples given are illustrations only, anddo not embrace all the changes which are comprehended within myinvention.

It is to be noted that in this specification one equivalent of eachmetal as compared with hydrogen (equal 1) is as follows:

Aluminum (A1) 13.70 Copper (Cu) 31.71 Iron (Fe)... 27.18 Nickel (Ni)29.62 Platinum (Pl) 98.84 Silver (Ag). 108.30 Tin (Sn). 58.92

Zinc (Zn).. 32.31

The four following formulae produce alloys which, from their color andfineness of texture, nearly resemble gold, whence I term the alloyschrysoid, they being well adapted for use in the manufacture ofwatch-cases, chains, and ornamental jewelry:

The three following formulae produce alloys which may be used assubstitutes for composition-that is, the alloy now used in machinery:

These alloys are hard and tenacious, but are characterized byconsiderable shrinkage in cooling from a molten state, thelast-mentioned alloy havingconsiderably more shrinkage than either ofthe others preceding it. The said alloys have, when drawn into wires ofabout onethirtieth of an inch in diameter, a tensile strength to thesquare inch of section, in the preceding order, of about ninetythousand, one hundred and three thousand, and eighty-four thousandpounds.

The following alloys are remarkably well adapted for gun-metal, beinghard, tenacious, laminable, and ductile:

Cu Al Fe The tensile strength of the above alloys, when reduced to wire,as above referred to, is for the square inch of section about eightytwothousand pounds for the first of the last series of formulae,eighty-four thousand five hundred pounds for the second, and one hundredand seven thousand seven hundred pounds for the last.

\Vhere zinc or tin, or both, enter into the alloys in the place ofsilver, the color of the resultant alloys is somewhat affected and theluster is diminished.

In the following alloys nickel forms the third element of thecombination of the first formula and platinum the third element ofthecombination of the second formulae:

Cu Al Ni Ni1+ G(Al1+Cnc):.9129+.0634+.0237=The alloy.

011 Al P1 P1 1-1-21 (Ali-l-Cn .9117-|-.0G56 +.0225: The alloy.

Those alloys into which I introduce platinum are less affected by acidsthan are those in which silver takes the place of platinum.

Either the platinum or the silver gives a high luster to the alloy,platinum producing this result in a greater degree than silver.

In those alloys into which I introduce iron orplatinum,orotherlight-colored metals which are difficult of fusion, I prefer tobring the easily-fused metals into a molten state, and then to mix thoseless fusible with them in the form of shreds, particles, finewire, orthin plates.

The metals used should be those which are most nearly pure, as found inthe market, it not being necessary to have them absolutely or chemicallypure.

The copper, which constitutes the largest ingredient of my alloys, Iprefer to have the best Lake Superior copper, or else the copperdeposited by the eleotrotype process, which frees it from manyimpurities.

My alloys are well adapted for the alloying of gold, particularly thesealloys designated herein under the name of chrysoid.

I claim The alloys within described as compounded substantially of themetals and in the proportions set forth.

MOSES G. FARMER.

Witnesses:

. R. H. MATHIEs, J. B. ORosBY.

